Let Your Love Grow
by HPtwilightfanatic
Summary: Then quite purposefully, James' hand fell on top of Lily's resting in the pot. It felt as if there was a low, smoldering heat below the dirt, and it was sending a funny burning feeling up her arm. It felt so strange, but she still didn't move her hand. -A silly little experiment from Professor Sprout turns into something much more between Lily and James. LJ oneshot.


Herbology had come very easy to Lily Evans when she had first arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With her and her sister's names, it was really no secret that Mrs. Evans had such a love of gardening. Petunia had never been a fan of it, but Lily had loved to get down on her knees and join her mother in the sea of dirt and vibrant petals that made up their garden at home. Lily had never resented her name, or the flower that she'd been named after, because she simply loved every flower in their gardens.

So when she had first been herded into the greenhouses on the Hogwarts grounds, she'd felt right at home. Even though these plants had magical properties, they still had similar needs to those of the ones she'd grown up surrounded by. It had very quickly become her favorite class.

It was a particularly sunny day, with no cloud to be seen for miles in the blue abyss that Professor Sprout decided to be late to class. The first years had gathered in the greenhouses, a little rowdy as they were waiting for Friday to end and the weekend to begin. But the professor was nowhere to be found.

Lily stood quietly at her assigned spot, waiting for her teacher. Alice and Marlene began whispering among themselves, and Lily could see Severus glaring at the table before him. She thought she might go talk to him, when an odd sound reached her ears. It sounded almost like…giggling.

Her eyes scoured the glass house, and fell upon four boys, one rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter, the other three relentlessly tickling a large plant. To Lily's surprise, the plant was what was making the silly giggling noises.

Some students around Lily began to laugh at the boys' antics, but Lily could only roll her eyes. She moved away from Alice's side and swooped through the jungle of plants, coming down on the boys.

"Stop it!" She shouted. As she had expected, those dark brown eyes immediately fell on her. A smile filled those eyes, as well as forming on his lips. James Potter's hands hesitantly fell from the plant as he turned to face her directly.

"It's just a bit of fun Evans."

Lily as ready to tell him off for his 'bit of fun', when she noticed the plant's vines leaving its sides, and creeping up behind the boy in front of her. Her mouth opened to warn him, but the vines seized him and began tickling him relentlessly.

She caught a glimpse of the look of disgust that crossed Severus' face as he looked down on the boy. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black backed away from the plant they had previously been tickling, laughter erupting from them as they watched their friend get tortured by tickles.

Lily told herself she just didn't want any damage to come to the poor plant as she knelt next to the laughing boy, and tried to wrestle the vines off of him. She began to feel pinches at her sides, but she was so close to freeing Potter from the entanglement, that she ignored it.

"Li-Li-Lily!" James eyes widened at her as he tried to speak between his bursts of laughter. The pinches came harder as she pulled the last vine from James. His mouth opened, his eyes staring at something behind her. Before anything could leave his lips, Lily felt a snap of the vines from behind, and she was sent sprawling all over James, knocking him back to the floor.

The vines quickly wrapped around the two of them, pressing them tightly together. Lily was about to shout something at the boy beneath her, but giggles replaced her prepared shouts as the plant began tickling both her and James.

Lily could feel James' cheek rubbing against hers as he laughed into her ear. It was deafening, but he had one of those laughs that could make one smile, or in Lily's case, laugh even harder. His hands were trying fruitlessly to escape; instead they just kept skimming her arms. Lily could feel her cheeks flushing violently, and dismissed it to all of the laughter that kept coursing out of her.

And as quickly as it started, the vines vanished from their sides. Lily's now tearing eyes opened to see the brown eyes covered by glasses meeting her gaze evenly. Her hands had ended up pressed against his chest. She quickly pushed herself off of him, falling back on her own backside next to him.

"I do hope I wasn't interrupting anything." Lily jumped at the voice, tilting her head back. Professor Sprout looked immensely amused at the two of them as they scrambled back up to their feet.

_At least Potter has the decency to look embarrassed._ Lily thought as she caught a glimpse of James' pink tinged cheeks.

"I'm sorry Professor. I was trying to stop-"

"No need for excuses Miss Evans." Sprout turned to the rest of the class. "Now that we are all here and not distracted," some giggles could be heard at that, but no one was really sure whether it was a student or the plant. Just in case, James shifted away from it with a suspicious glance. "We will start. Now, I'm going to partner you up."

Groans were heard throughout the students, but the stout Professor simply ignored them as she began naming off partners and distributing small seeds to each pair. Lily was standing awkwardly next to the unruly haired boy, not exactly sure what to do, when Professor Sprout approached them. Expecting some sort of reprimand for fooling around with the plants, Lily was surprised when all the Professor did was hold out a small seed for them.

"You two make our last pair then!" She turned away form them yet again, addressing the whole of the first years. "We're going to try an experiment. I've never used these plants in class before. They're not known for being dangerous, but I guess it depends." There were some shifty glances at that saying. "Well, let's get planting then! There are pots spread around the room, pick one and get started."

The Professor looked completely contented by the task she had given them, but confusion filled Lily. "Professor? What is the lesson in planting these?" She questioned.

Sprout turned back to Lily, a funny gleam in her eyes. "We'll be seeing that together, won't we?"

Lily wanted to ask more of the woman, but she was already flouncing off to another pair of students.

"Er, Lily?" Whirling at the sound of her name, Lily faced James again. He was already sitting next to one of the empty pots that Professor Sprout had indicated. Lily shook her head, clearing it, and crossed her legs down across the boy, leaving the pot between them.

She immediately dug her hand into the extra dirt near them, giving no thought to the shovel and gloves beside the pot. James shot her an intrigued look, a smile forming on his mouth. Her unconscious response was to return the smile, but she looked down quickly, chastising herself for encouraging the boy

"Do you want to do the honors?"

Lily glanced up slightly, avoiding the gaze that had made her squirm so. He was holding the seed out to her. It looked even smaller in the palm of his hand than it had in the professor's.

"You can." She denied gently. She was still pointedly avoiding his eyes, but she could practically feel the quirk of his eyebrows.

James carefully set the seed in, and then imitated her actions, burying the seed in the dirt, filling the pot up the rest of the way. He began packing the dirt down tightly. Before she knew what she was doing, Lily's hand shot out. His hand immediately froze once her fingers brushed his; there wasn't even a need to grab it.

"Not like that," The words were quiet, whispered. She gently began to ruffle up the dirt again and noticed that James' hand did the same. "We want to give the seed some room to grow. Some air, so it can breathe, so to speak." Stupidly, she dared a glance up at him and regretted it right away. His stare was heavy on her. There was a strange glitter in his eyes that made Lily shift in her position. His eyes were filled with wonder at her. Her cheeks betrayed her in yet another blush, and she looked down at the pot again. Their hands brushed occasionally as they both pat at the dirt.

Then quite purposefully, James' hand fell on top of Lily's resting in the pot. She started, determinedly keeping her eyes down, but oddly, she did not pull her hand away. It felt as if there was a low, smoldering heat below the dirt, and it was sending a funny burning feeling up her arm. It felt so strange, but she still didn't move her hand.

"Alright, I'll dismiss you a little early today to make up for my being late."

The pair of them jolted at the teacher's words, their eyes meeting again as Lily retreated her hand from the pot. A shiver went down her spine, resting somewhere behind her belly. Lily's thoughts were racing, her pulse beating even faster than that. She told herself that she was just surprised at class ending so early.

"Please write your names on the pots, and you may leave."

Swiftly, Lily took her quill out and scribbled her name the best she could on the slanted clay of the pot. Grabbing her bag without even putting her quill away, she was about to make her get away, but something held her back.

Turning, she saw James rummaging about in his bag. Lily knew that Severus was waiting so they could all walk to the Great Hall together, but she took a step back towards the table, holding out her quill. It tickled James' nose as he looked up at her, surprise evident on his face.

"Thanks," He took it gratefully, and scratched out his name on the clay. Their fingers brushed as he handed it back to her, and Lily tried desperately to ignore the burning again.

This meant nothing. They had planted a stupid seed. She had let him borrow her quill. No big deal. It changed nothing between them. He was still a git.

"You're welcome." She paused again, looking hard at the boy in front of her.

"See you around Lily." His wave was abrupt, and he turned away from her, catching up with his mates.

No, it changed absolutely nothing.

-x-

At first, Lily had loved the visits to Hogsmeade Village. The small town had fascinated her. Of course, she still loved the village, but when she'd had to stay behind one time for Head duties, she'd realized how peaceful and quiet the castle was with the majority of its student body missing from inside the walls.

So every once in a while, she would make an excuse to Alice and Marly, saying that she had to stay back to finish some homework, or make up some job a professor had given her. Soon, the stone walls became too lonely without voices and laughter echoing off of them, so she would retreat to the vast grounds of Hogwarts.

However, as the weather grew nicer, the few other students who either couldn't go, or didn't go to Hogsmeade started making their ways out onto the grounds as well. So as to avoid these students and get her beloved alone time, Lily had immersed herself among the familiar plants of the greenhouses.

The heat may have been smothering and damp, but at least she was alone. She would bring a book with her, and spend the whole day in other worlds while she stayed in her spot among the rafters of the green house, the sun shining down through the glass. It was the quietest place she could find. Gryffindor Tower was never silent. Even late in the night, there was always some sort of noise that could be heard, whether it was Alice's cat meowing in his sleep, or an occasional guffaw coming from the late-nighters in the Common Room.

Lily took to turning her face up to the blazing sun, marking her page with her finger. She wondered at the very back of her mind what Alice and Marly were getting up to in the village. Alice had probably met up with Frank, leaving Marly to the clutches of Sirius Black, not that Marlene really minded. Taking in a deep breath, all of the smells of the various plants rushed to her nostrils. James was probably with them too. Lily knew that was a dangerous place for her mind to go, but she was too tired to stop it.

Against all odds, the two of them had become friends this year. At least, if that's what one would call what they had. Of course, he still teased her, and she still yelled at him, but it was somehow less angry than it had been in the previous years. It was all in good fun now. Or, it was meant to be. Now, his teasing gave her a thrill instead of a strike of anger. She actually wanted to be around him, looking forward to their nights patrolling. She never gave much thought to it though.

A quick scuffle caught her attention, and the door of the old green house was clicked open. Lily's head snapped forward so quickly, it actually hurt her neck. Foot steps made their way all over the house, slowly making their way closer to Lily's spot.

The green houses weren't exactly open for students during Hogsmeade visits. Lily had snuck in one of the back panels that could easily pop out of the panes. It probably wouldn't be best if the Head Girl was found in a technically closed building.

Quickly and in a surprisingly nimble manner, Lily climbed down from the rafter, clutching her book in her hand. She snuck behind the large plants at the back of the room. The sound of footsteps was thankfully fading away to the other side of the greenhouse.

Lily was about to allow a sigh of relief but panic suddenly rose in her chest as her foot caught on something and she felt herself rushing forward so fast that her mind didn't realize she was falling until she hit the ground.

A moan escaped her as she felt around the concrete floor to push herself up. Her vision was slightly blurry once her eyes flicked open, causing the plants to all swirl around her. Roughly, Lily brought her head up, and when here eyes finally focused, her name was there. She frowned at the chicken scratches, and leaned back on her knees.

The pot was old, and splotched with dirt. A thick layer of dust covered the shelf it sat on. In a closer look, another name was written on the pot. In possibly the messiest handwriting she'd even seen, Lily finally made out the name 'James Potter'.

A gasp got caught in her throat. For a moment, confusion swept through her mind. Then a soft memory, that was not much touched on came to the front of her mind. Professor Sprout's silly little seed with no lesson. James' hand falling on hers in the pot of dirt, his mesmerizing eyes that even then, at eleven years old, did not hold much innocence in them. Then his odd look as she had held out a quill to him and his quick, messy handwriting. Even if she'd tried, Lily could not stop the smile that came to her lips at the memory.

She fully stood up now, dusting off her knees and scooping her book up from where it had bounced out of her grip. When she came to her full height, she glanced back at her and James' little pot, and gasped, her emerald eyes widening significantly.

A lone green stalk stood from the dirt. It was not the biggest plant in the greenhouse by far, but the stalk was indeed too tall for the tiny pot. Lily's gaze followed the stem, and she could almost feel her breath hitch as her eyes fell upon large white petals that folded over each other, seeming to compete for Lily's gaze. The flower was about the size of Lily's hand outstretched, and it was beautiful. Possibly the most beautiful bloom she had ever seen. The petals were so clean, despite all of the dust that surrounded the flower. In the center of the bloom the stamen stood gracefully, also pure white. The flower was literally glowing, the particles in the air shimmering as they passed in its light. She couldn't take her eyes from it. Her finger reached out, extending towards the petals, almost afraid to touch them, as if they would break; they looked so delicate.

"Why, Miss Evans! What are you doing all the way back here?"

Lily jolted out of her reverie, causing a spring of pain to go up her neck again.

"Professor Sprout! I-" Lily frantically searched for an excuse, while trying to move in front of the flower. For some reason, she did not want to share the beautiful flower with her teacher.

The professor only smiled, and moved around with her watering can, pouring it into a large pot in the corner. "It's not a problem. You're not going to get into trouble for sneaking into the greenhouses. I'm honored in a way actually, I think you're the first student to come here on purpose." Sprout murmured thoughtfully, more to herself than to Lily.

Lily's fingers couldn't keep still as they fanned all of the pages of her novel. "I like it in here." She mumbled. She could see the glow of her flower out of the corner of her eye, pulling at her attention.

The professor smiled, pulling out a piece of raw meat and throwing it to a plant behind her, who gratefully chomped it up with sharp fangs.

Lily watched interestedly as the professor went on, shifting plants so they could get more sun, pulling out weeds, and watering all of them. She was like a mother to them. Sprout did not seem to object to Lily's company, carrying on as she hummed to herself, some of the plants joining in on her tune.

She waltzed by the shelf that the white flower stood tall upon and made to turn the corner.

"Professor," Lily started, looking from the stout woman to the elegant bloom still behind her. "What about this one?"

Professor Sprout came up beside her, also gazing at the flower, but with a knowing fascination. "Oh, this?" The watering can made a plinking noise as she let it rest on the shelf, water sloshing out to make rivers filled with dust. "You see Miss Evans this type of flower is very funny. They are very rare, and even more rarely found blooming."

Another piece of a memory stuck out in Lily's head. _"We're going to try an experiment."_ The professor had said six years ago.

"If they are so rare, why did you have first years plant them?"

A secret smile formed on the teacher's lips. "I wanted to see what would happen. Not much did from my point of view." The professor gestured to the shelf, and for the first time, Lily noticed all of the other pots lined up next to her flower. Names were on the pots everywhere, Sirius Black, Amos Diggory, Peter Pettigrew, Marlene McKinnon, Remus Lupin, Lucius Malfoy. Even Snape's name was on one.

But there was one difference between Lily's flower pot and the others. Nothing had grown. They were just abandoned pots of dirt. One had had a flower once, but the petals were an old and faded red, one that had died and shriveled up years ago.

Lily's jaw was slack as she turned back to the tall white flower.

"You see Miss Evans, these flowers are very funny." The professor repeated off-handedly, scooping up her can of water. "They don't depend on sunshine. Watering them will do no good. The flower depends on the person, or in this case, the people that planted it, to grow."

Lily felt as if she was in a dream. The flower's glow surrounded her. Professor Sprout's footsteps echoed away, just as her words did in Lily's ears.

"_The flower depends on the people that planted it to grow."_

She couldn't breathe. Her eyes flickered from the bloom to the names on the pot. Lily Evans. The white, shimmering petals. James Potter. The way the flower folded out so invitingly, like it was welcoming her home. This beautiful, glowing flower, had grown because of James and her, and they'd done nothing to take care of it. Well, done none of the usual things that plants need.

No air came to her lungs. She couldn't breathe, but she could run.

The greenhouses were far behind her before she even realized that she was running. Instead of running towards the towers of Hogwarts, she turned the opposite way. Soon the ground below her was cobblestoned, and other feet shuffled around her.

Leaning against the nearest wall, she caught her breath. Lily was definitely not much of a runner; she wondered how she had made it this far without stopping.

Looking up, she found the Honeyduke's sign gleaming above her. Holding her book close, she steadied herself on her wobbly legs and moved with the crowd. Faces passed by her, but never the ones she wanted to find. She just needed a distraction. A peak inside the Three Broomsticks gave her nothing, the bookshop left her empty handed. A little bell rang as she opened the door to Zonko's Joke Shop. She thought that one would come up empty too, until she heard a giggle that was undeniably Alice's.

The hallway she snuck down was stacked to the brim with items that would ensure the torture of some poor soul on the receiving end of a joke. Turning the corner, Alice was at her feet twisting and turning on the ground, all smiles.

"S-s-stop!" She shouted. Lily's attention was pulled over to Marlene, who was also rolling around on the tile. Alice gripped Lily's ankle suddenly, tugging violently as yellow dust went over her, and for a second time that day, Lily found herself tumbling toward the ground, her hands wildly flailing to try and catch herself.

Her face came in contact with something soft and solid, and her hand was caught. The smell of spring filled her nose, with a light tinge of cologne. Her gaze was taken over by hazel eyes resting behind spectacles as she looked up.

"Hey there, are you alright?" His deep voice rumbled right up against her. Lily tried to pull away and stand up straight, but James had quite the hold on her.

"Hey Evans! Want to try some tickle dust?" Sirius' voice laughed, and the giggles resumed among the group, but Lily couldn't look away from the boy in front of her. She could feel the flower's glow coming upon her, but that was impossible. The flower was all the way back at Hogwarts.

Her fingers clutched at James' shirt, managing to pull her closer to him.

"I thought you were staying back today Lils! You should have said something! We would have waited for you." Alice's voice was dim in Lily's thoughts.

It took a lot of force, but Lily turned towards where Alice's voice had come from below her, still very aware that James Potter was practically holding her, and quite intimately at that.

"I decided to come after all." She was very grateful that her voice gave no indication of all of the tremors making their way through her, though there wasn't a doubt in her mind that James could feel them.

"That's perfect! We haven't stopped by the Three Broomsticks yet. Come with us!" Alice was on her feet in an instant, looping her arm through Lily's as she wiped the tickle dust off of her clothes. She pulled Lily away from the ebony haired boy, and the redhead could feel James' gaze still on her back. She was thankful for Alice's actions, because she was sure that she wouldn't have been able to pull away from him herself.

The Marauders quickly scrambled to follow them, Sirius offering a hand to Marly.

"Are you alright? You're looking a bit peaky." Alice muttered low to Lily.

"Yes Mum, I'm fine."

Alice raised an eyebrow, but took Lily for her word and backed off, at least for the moment.

It had gotten late enough in the day for the Three Broomsticks to be emptying of students, but that didn't stop the Marauders from sauntering through the door, Sirius saving a wink just for Madame Rosmerta.

Just Lily's grand luck, Alice squished her into a booth, pushing her so she was snuggled right up close and personal with James. She tried to prevent the thoughts of the flower from coming to her mind, but the more she tried not to think of it, the more it filled her thoughts.

The flower didn't mean anything. It couldn't.

"_It depends on the people who plant the flower."_

But it did mean something, and that's what was plaguing Lily's mind. Then very suddenly, something toppled on her fisted hand resting down on her thigh. Rudely awoken from her thoughts, she whirled, coming nose to nose with James.

"Er, sorry." He muttered, looking surprisingly embarrassed as he jerked his hand away from hers, eyes shifting back down to the dark, polished wood of the table.

A spark seemed to light up on her hand, but then again, Lily could be imagining that. In fact, she could be imagining seeing that flower for Merlin's sake!

But she knew. Professor Sprout had spoken to her about the flower. She knew that the flower existed, and that it was glowing tall and bright in the glass house even as she sat here, next to the boy she had planted it with. Because it wasn't just her flower. It was his too. It was theirs.

Lily couldn't remember finishing her butterbeer, or really much of anything that passed during the evening they had spent in the pub. The only thing she could properly recall was how acutely aware she was of whenever James' arm brushed hers. Her mind was going into a haze. She couldn't simply go back to the common room with this boy, patrol with him tonight, and sleep only rooms away from him after discovering that flower. Her heart had exploded inside her, she wasn't even sure it was beating anymore.

"I have to go," She whispered, practically pushing Alice out of the booth as she made her exit. Voices shouted after her, one very concerned that she recognized as James Potter's, but she avoided them. She avoided him, as she had become rather good at over the years.

She told herself she was going to return to the castle, picturing herself heading straight to the library to finish her Transfiguration essay. But her feet had other plans. She knew somewhere in her head she would end up there again, but she was still a little surprised to find herself slipping through the panel at the back of the greenhouse once more. She could feel the warmth of the flower's glow already, and it only gained strength as she grew closer to the shelf.

Unlike many other flowers, the petals had not closed in on themselves with the disappearance of the sun. It still stood tall, proud, and spectacular, demanding awe from those who laid eyes upon it. Lily approached cautiously, letting her fingers run along the dry, rough clay of the pot, and flow into the layer of dirt that the stem sprouted from. Just the soft, cushioned feeling of it reminded her of that day in first year. The day they planted that silly little seed. The tickling plant. She remembered very clearly the burning in her arm from his skin against hers.

Her eleven year old self had said that it hadn't been a big deal. That nothing had changed. It was a silly seed. She had tried to convince herself that a second time this afternoon, after seeing what that seed had developed into. She had been wrong. Both times, she had been wrong.

Her fingers curled, collecting some of the dirt between them and her palm.

"Lily?" Her heart leapt in astonishment and was sent hammering away at the sound of his voice. She turned to face James, blocking their flower from his sight. His breathing was heavy, and the same look he held in the joke shop was spread over his features.

"What are you doing here? Why did you follow me?" Her voice had gone up an octave, her nervousness obvious.

James hesitantly took a half step towards her. She had nowhere to go. She was pressed up against the shelf. Lily noticed that the glow from the flower was growing brighter as he moved nearer, but his eyes wouldn't leave her face.

"You looked agitated when you ran from the Three Broomsticks. I…I was worried."

One more step, and he was right in front of her. He could have reached out his hand, and pushed the strands of hair that fell into her eyes. He could have tilted her chin up and make those emerald eyes that were darting all around meet his. He could have said something to soothe her panicky look. He could have.

But something had claimed his attention. The glow from the flower caused his eyes to light up strangely, like they were reflective.

"What is-?" Lily twirled on the spot, back to face the flower.

"It's just a flower." She felt her cheeks redden as her throat closed up.

James knelt beside the shelf, his eyes refocusing on the pot itself rather than the bright petals. She felt her fists clench as he read their names under his breath. "Lily Evans, James Potter." He did the same thing she had done earlier that day, his gaze flicking between the chicken scratches on the pot and the flower itself.

"This is our flower!" He finally proclaimed. Lily watched the words leave his lips, and kept her eyes on his face. "But…" James stood up again, coming to his full height, a whole head taller than her. "How did it grow? I don't remember Sprout ever returning to the lesson." He sounded thoughtful, completely innocent in his question. But Lily knew the answer was anything but innocent.

"Have you been taking care of it?" James sounded incredulous as he glanced down at Lily.

"Sort of." She answered, her voice wavering a little bit. She hadn't been taking care of it exactly, and neither had he. But at the same time, they both had. Over the years, just as they grew closer, their flower had grown with them, getting taller, healthier everyday.

"What, you haven't been watering it?"

"It doesn't take water." Lily whispered. The glow seemed to surround the two of them like a cloak.

He frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

Her breath was erratic, her heartbeat not much better off. "It…it doesn't take water or sunlight. It depends on the person-" She gulped audibly. She couldn't believe she was actually explaining this to him. She should tell him to leave now, make him forget all about the flower.

"-On the people that plant it."

James didn't react at first. He made no move to let her know that this information shocked him as much as it did her.

"See? The pot right next to it?" Lily gestured toward the pot with the wilted, blackened flower. "That was Amos Diggory and Sandra Brown's." She had no idea where all of these words were coming from. They were exiting her lips before they ran by her brain. "They dated for a while in fourth year, remember? But it ended badly."

James said nothing.

"And that pot there, that's Sirius and Elena Brook's. I don't think they ever spoke to each other after that." She explained about the empty pot on the bottom shelf.

Lily forced herself to shut her mouth before another ridiculous thing popped out, uninvited.

James finally tore his gaze away from the bloom, turning his now significantly darker eyes on her.

"So what does that mean about our flower."

Lily shivered at the emphasis he put on 'our'. She froze as he took a step toward her, trembling at her spot. She could still tell him to leave. Order him out. Or she could run, like she had this afternoon.

The flower's glow was getting brighter and brighter the closer James came to her. She could push him away and run.

But as James came so close, their chests brushing with every breath they took, Lily found that she couldn't do any of those things. How could she, when she could barely breathe. The bloom seemed to urge them on. He was much too close; their breath mingled, and their hands were brushing.

"It means we're good friends!"

James froze, his head half bent toward her. He blinked, shaking his head lightly, as if he couldn't quite believe what she had just said.

To be honest, Lily couldn't believe it either.

She had panicked, the words rolling off like they had before. Why was she always like this around him, saying things she didn't want to say? Feeling things she didn't want to feel. Or things she thought she didn't want to feel. For years, she had thought that she didn't want to feel that way for him. The flower was living proof that those emotions had been ther all the time, Lily had just refused to notice them.

And then James was far away from her, backed up to the opposite shelf. A smile was plastered on his face like a mask, but his eyes were empty, hard.

"Yeah. Of course. We're good friends. That's right." The words were nice, but his tone made them sharp. "I'll see you around, Lily." James gave a short wave, and turned to leave, disappearing behind the shelf, the house going dark behind him.

Dark?

Lily swiveled her head to face the plant. The glow of their flower had dimmed so much, it looked almost like any other flower in her mother's garden back home. If flowers had faces, this one would be frowning at Lily in disappointment.

"What? What do you want me to do?" Lily glared right back at the bloom. Of course, it made no answer. It simply stood tall as it always had. But it looked much gloomier without its glow.

Goosebumps painted Lily's skin. The warmth from the flower was gone, and she had never put her cloak on this morning. She stared hard at the petals. Why was it dim now? It hadn't been this afternoon, and James had been in Hogsmeade, nowhere near her. So, why now?

Lily could still hear James' footsteps making their way through the maze of plants. Moving away from her.

James had just seen the flower, and he had understood it better than she had. She gave one more glance back at the white bloom before she turned and ran through the dark greenhouse.

"James!" Her voice echoed strangely off of the glass. Eerie shadows filled the house, the moonlight casting monsters all over from the plants. "James!" She shouted again.

"Lily?"

He had gotten much farther than she had expected. Tripping over roots and broken pots, Lily pushed her way through the jungle, towards his voice.

She came to a stop when he was back in line of sigh. Standing in front of him, she realized she didn't really know what she had planned to do. She hadn't thought that far ahead. His hands were shoved in his pockets, and his brow was furrowed at her.

With those dark eyes on hers again, it was obvious that what had grown between them was not friendship. It was something much greater than either of them could truly fathom. But something they could both feel.

James moved towards her again, removing his Quidditch-calloused hands from his pockets to come up and hold hers. Lily wondered if he could possibly hear her heart crashing against her ribs. He bent his head down towards her. Neither of them could be sure who initiated it, but their lips brushed so lightly together, it was like a ghost of a kiss. But with just that, the room was illuminated with a blinding light, coming from the back of the greenhouse. Some night thriving plants shied away from Lily and James' flower as it shined, hissing like serpents. But the two seventeen year olds were unaffected by it.

Lily could feel everything at once; the heat from James' skin, his hands roaming up her arms, their bodies outlining each other perfectly. Everything became sharper; the aromas and the stenches of the greenhouses alike, the tempting smell of James, the feel of him. Her mind was fuzzy, overwhelmed with him. Her arms wound around his neck, her fingers tousling his soft hair. James angled his head, deepening the kiss as he pushed his tongue gently through her lips as he pushed their torsos closer together. Lily's knees gave out, and she would have fallen to the ground for a third time that day if James had not been holding her up.

Their breaths were heaving when they finally pulled away, pushing their foreheads together as they held matching smiles. Slowly, the light from the flower dimmed, the greenhouse becoming dark again. But over the many shelves, a glow emanated from the very back of the house, brighter than it had ever been before.

For many years to come, a mysterious glow was spoken of at the back of the greenhouse. Some said it was a ghost who had been eaten by one of the plants, and it now lurked forever between the glass panes. Professor Sprout simply smiled when she heard these rumors, for every time she passed that pure flower, even when she was teaching the son of those two students, the glow was as strong as ever.

A/N: This oneshot was inspired by the movie 'The Secret Garden', specifically, a scene that occurs between Mary and Dicken. It's a great movie. Thank you for reading! I have quite a few more LJ oneshots coming up, and a chapter of TLTIL!


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